St. Landry democrat., 1887-07-02
FOREIGN GOSSIP.
Chat About Persons and Things Compiled
from Our European Exchanges.

from Our European Exchanges.
The central provinces of Spain have
been visited by so terrible plague of locusts
that whole districts are ruined. Within the
space of a few hours these pests have de-
stroyed every trace of vegetation-grass,
wheat vines and olives. Over considerable
tracts of country not vestige of green is to
be seen, and the reports state that at times the
sun has been obscured when these fearful
pests have been winging their night from
place to place. In La Mancha the trains have
been stopped by them, and gangs of workmen
have to go ahead of passenger trains in trucks
to clear the lines of the myriads OF l0custs
that have descended upon them, In many
cases the insects have lain so thick on the rails
that trains have not been able to travel faster
than three or four miles an hour The Cortes
are about to vote large credit in aid of the
sufferers and to provide means OF Destroy
ing these voracious swarms of insects.
1t does not require lengthy appren-
ticeship to the trade of journalism to qualifya
man for editing revolutionary journal In
France. NJ. Odin, the editor OF the Rer0futton
Cosmopolite, has just had to answer charge of
melting the army to mutiny in a recent article
of his and it came out in the course of the trial
that before he attained his present elevation
cooper, a lyric artist, a bookbinder, railway
employee and a coalheaver. Few men have
had such experience of the ups and downs OF
life as NJ Odin. His last transformation is per-
haps the most startling of the many which he
has undergone in the course of his well-flled
career: but there is. after all, certain con-
gruity in his finishing up as the champion OF
revolutionary principles. To be music-hall
singer one day and coalheaver the next is
enough to make any man reyolutionist.
An amusing story is going about the
English press with the Archdeacon of Winches-
ter for its hero. Recently the archdeacon took
a party of ladies over the cathedral. and, hav-
ing entered the sacred editce, put the key in
his archidiaconal pocket. The organ happened
to be under repair, and some of the pipes were
lying about. The archdeacon is small man,
and his evil genius prompted him to give his
friends practical illustration either of his own
smallness or the vast dimensions of one Of the
pipes by crawling into it. But either the arch
: deacon was bigger than he supposed or the pipe
was smaller for, having screwed himself In
SIDE there the reverend gentleman stuck. The
key of the church being in his pocket, and the
ladies being unable to extract him, the arch
deacon had to remain there till the Workmen
came back from dinner.
The church of Meixotl, Mexico, con-
tains remarkable veil of great value. For
nearly three centuries Spaniards were in the
habit of yowing jewelto the veil of Our Lady
of Meixotl if they returned safely from voy-
age to Spain. until in Mayimilian's time the
veil was bejeweled to the value Of about EAU
600. Three German adventures, after Maxi
milan failure, determined to carry away this
veil as booty. They made their plans with
Ia
but in some way they were discovered, and a
party of pursuers overlook them in narrow
pass where two of them were killed. the third
escaping under cover of darkness. leaving be-
hind him, howeve' the precious veil, which
was regained and restored to the altar, where
it is more yigilantly guarded than ever.
An interesting discovery was made at
Winchester Cathedral, England, during the
construction of monument to hold the
skeleton of Bishop Courtenay. A workman
on making an opening in the choir wall, ex-
| posed a leaden Golfer in which had been
| enshrined the bones of Richard, the second sor
| of the Conqueror, who was killed by stag in
! the New Forest. The Golfer, after some seven
| centuries, remains perfect. The inscription
| denotes that the Golfer contains the bones OF
| Richard but the words "Beorn Dux" leac
antiouaries to believe that the Golfer also holds
the bones of Earl Beorn, nephew OF Canute.
It is said that the Emperor of Aus
trials jubilee present to Queen Victoria will bt
a case of the finest imperial Tokay. A gift Of
| Tokay is no small affair at Vienna. The Elm
| peror Ferdinand wished to make present of {
quantity of this wine to the late King OF the
Netherlands, and as it was thought by thu
court officials that there was none sufficient!
old in the imperial cellars,a thousand bottles O.
the finest and Oldest Tokay in the world wer'
procured from Cracow at the monstrous price
of SIG rs bottle. ;